Wing Chan and his wife moved to Australia from Hong Kong 30 years ago.
They have no children and the couple supported each other throughout their working lives.
At 72, Mr Chan suffered a stroke, which paralysed the left side of his body.
The health professionals in hospital didn't believe Mrs Chan would be able to look after him on her own, so Mr Chan was transferred to permanent care directly from hospital.
She visited her husband at the facility daily but noticed that since her husband was not fluent in English, he was not able to get the full attention of care and support she felt he needed.
So, she decided to take her husband home and look after him herself. It was a challenge, but with the assistance of Seniors Rights Victoria, Mr Chan was assigned a level four home care package within weeks.
Since receiving the MiCare home care package, the couple have a Cantonese speaking care manager to advocate for them. They can express their wishes and needs freely.
Mr Chan needs assistance in all aspects of daily living but due to the Covid pandemic, Mrs Chan didn't feel comfortable having carers inside the house.
She decided to attend to all the supporting tasks herself, so care managers and the occupational therapist arranged for the equipment needed at home such as an electric bed, along with lifting, transferring, mobility and shower assistance equipment.
"We are very fortunate to have a care manager who can speak Cantonese, which makes it much easier to communicate," Mrs Chan said.
"Sometimes I might receive some SMS message from the government that I don't entirely understand. I simply copy the SMS message and send it to my care manager who can translate it for me.
"Recently, my care manager taught me how to use Google translate. This also makes our lives easier. Without the support from the home care package, I would not be able to look after my husband at home."
Mr Chan, who has been back home for almost a year, said he is now able to participate more in the activities of daily life.
Click here or phone 1800-642-273 for more information.
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